Wednesday, 8 June 2011

“剩女” Shengnv (Leftover Women is now a buzzword in China to refer single or unmarried women over the age of 25. There are many different hierarchies of the left-over women. Single women between 25-30 are called “剩斗士” sheng dou shi (Left-over fighters), as women in this age range still have the energy and hope to find true love. Between 30-35, they are called “必剩客” bi sheng ke(pronounced the same as Pizzahut in Chinese, means literally “must win”), suggesting their chances of getting married are pretty small. For those above 35 years old, they are the “齐天大剩” qi tian da sheng (Leftover Kings, pronounced the same as the Monkey King in Chinese literally means heavenly leftover), because they have been viewed by many.

A new report prepared for Prime Minister Putin by the Federal Security Service (FSB) says that former International Monetary Fund (IMF) Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was charged and jailed in the US for sex crimes on May 14th after his discovery that all of the gold held in the United States Bullion Depository located at Fort Knox was ‘missing and/or unaccounted’ for.

Chinese shipyards could find it more difficult to compete against South Korea and Japanese on price alone if the yuan continues to appreciate against the US dollar, according to a leading ship financier.

It has become a ritual that, each year, after the US State Department publishes its report on human rights practices around the world, China responds by issuing a human rights report on the United States. This year was no different.

In December 2009, a rejection letter from Columbia University found its way to the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. It was addressed to Lu Jingyu, a top student and member of her school’s student government. As she read the disheartening words, Ms. Lu immediately began to panic. Where had she gone wrong? How could she fix this?

I am getting a bit worried about the fate of the King of Fruits in Malaysia. Imagine, if only a fraction of the 1.3 billion people in China decide that they prefer durians over mandarin oranges, will there be any left over for us back home?

Falling land prices may prompt Chinese property developers to write down the value of their assets, forcing a sober reassessment for those with vast land holdings, according to a survey released Monday by Credit Suisse.

The divorce rate in China has increased for 7 consecutive years! According to statistics from China’s civil administration, more than 460,000 couples registered for divorce between January and March this year, increased by 17.1% compared to last year’s statistics, meaning that 5,000 couples get divorced everyday on average.